Nose guard



Jan. 18 1938,

. V. R. M MILLAN NOSE GUARD Filed Feb. 21, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l' Jan. 18, 1938. v. R. MCMELLAN 2,105,607

NOSE GUARD Filed Feb. 21, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 18, 1938 UNITED STATE PATENT ()FFICE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to guards which are more especially intended for use by football players in conjunction with the usual helmet Worn by football players; although it is apparent that the guards may equally as well be employed by others.

The object of my invention is to provide a guard which may be readily applied to the helmet and which is so designed that complete protection for the nose of the wearer will be afforded while at the same time in no way interfering with the wearers vision in all directions.

Another object of my invention is to provide a, guardwhereby any jars or blows that it may encounter will be transmitted to the outer stiiT leather portion of the helmet and be distributed to various portions.

Another object of the invention is to also provide a structure whereby further protection for the eyes and cheek-bones of the wearer will be provided by means of additional bars so disposed that contact with the eyes and upper part of the cheeks of the wearer will be prevented.

The objects and advantages of my invention will all be fully comprehended from the following description of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a football players helmet provided with my improved face and nose guard.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional View taken through any one of the main body members, as for example on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a modification of the guard shown in Figure l, with added guard bars and with portions of the covering material broken away and in section.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a modification, with portions of the outer covering broken away and in section.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of another modified form with portions of the outer covering removed and in section.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a further modification, with a portion of the outer covering removed and in section.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of another form of the invention.

' My invention contemplates a guard which is preferably made of strong and practically, un-

bendable metal and which is so constructed that contact with the wearers face is not possible and any blows or impacts that may be encountered will not be transmitted to the face but will be distributed to various portions of the helmet worn by the player.

The invention also contemplates a guard which may be provided with additional bars whereby further protection for the eyes of the wearer, and

particularly a player using eye glasses, may be ailorded.

I am aware that a nose guard has been in use which fits over the nose and contacts with the face around the nose and which is held in place by a depending tongue which the wearer holds with his teeth; but this type of guard has been found objectionable because, for one reason, the blow encountered by it will be directly transmitted to the wearers face. that type of guard, if the wearer fails to hold the tongue of the guard firmly between his teeth, the guard will swing out of position; and then, too, the remainder of the upper part of the face is left unprotected.

In the particular exemplification of the invention as disclosed in the first two figures of the drawings, my improved guard is constructed of comparatively heavy iron rod, circular in crosssection as shown at In in Figure 2. A suitable length of rod is bent into the U-shaped loop portion I l with the two ends terminating in the ring or annular portions l2, l2. These ring portions [2, l 2 may be formed by suitably bending the ends of the U-shape body portion H, or these ring portions may be integrally united with the ends of the body portion l l by welding as shown.

The loop or body portion H is made to extend from side to side of the head and be disposed forward of the vertical plane of the tip of the nose.

This body portion II at a point intermediate of its ends, namely at a point which will align with the wearers nose, is provided with a vertically disposed bar or portion I3, which curves rearwardly upward to a position adjacent the forehead of the wearer.

This portion 13 at its lower end is shown welded to the loop portion ll, while the upper end is flared into or provided with the laterally disposed arcuate portion I l.

As previously stated, my improved guards are intended to be used in conjunction witth the usual helmet shown at A in Figure 1 and the guard preferably secured to the outer stiff leather surface, either by lacing or riveting, or by any other suitable method. In the exemplification, in Figure 1, the annular portions or'rings l2, l2 at the ends of the loop portion l l are shown secured in place against the ear protecting portions of the Furthermore, with admitting holes I'l so as not to interfere with these openings.

The arcuate forehead bar or portion Hi is provided with openings at the end, and this bar is shown riveted at l8 to the forehead protecting portion of the helmet; although other means for securely holding it in place may be employed.

It is apparent that with the guard properly secured in place the nose and upper part of the players face will be protected against rough contact or blows and that any contact or blows encountered by the guard will be distributeclto different parts of the helmet which generally is well padded on the inside.

In Figure 3 1 illustrate the type of guard shown in Figure 1 provided with the additional upwardly disposed bars l9, l9, one on each side of the central bar l3 the bars l9, l9 being secured at the lower ends to'face encircling or transverse loop portion l I preferably adjacent the juncture of the bar Hi with loop portion H and disposed diagonally upward toward the opposite ends of the forehead bar or portion M so as to be disposed to one side of the vertical plane of the eyes. The ends of the. bars i5, i9 may be welded or otherwise rigidly secured in place; bars i5, i9 being preferably curved rearwardly upward in a manner similar to bar E3? The modification of Figure 3 also involves the additional transversely sloping bars 21), 28, one on each side of central bar I3 and curved so as to preferably contact with the bowed portions of bars !9, Ill. The bars 20, 2B are preferably secured at one of their ends to the central bar l3 intermediate the upper and lower ends of the latter and curved downwardly toward the free ends of the loop member H to which they may be welded or otherwise suitablysecured. The bars 20 are arranged to be disposed in a plane beneath that of the wearers eyes so that neither bars 25! nor l9 will be in direct alignment with the eyes and hence will not interfere with nor obstruct the wearers vision. At the same time the bars are so disposed that easy contact with the eyes and checks of the wearer is impossible; thus also affording protection for the correction or eye glasses of a player.

The ends of the forehead portion or bar M in Figure .3 are shown provided with apertures 2! which may receive rivets as at l8 in Figure 1 or any other means may be employed whereby the guard is secured to the helmet of the player.

The guards before application to the helmet are preferably provided with a covering, such as leather, rubber tubing, or any other suitable material, as indicated at 22 in Figures 2 and 3, so that no metal will be exposed.

In Figures 4 to '7, inclusive, I illustrate modifications of my improved guard which all involve a face and nose protecting arcuate member and an upwardly disposed brace and nose protecting member. The modification shown in Figure 4 has the arcuate face and nose protecting member 23 made out of a sheet metal strip which is provided with a longitudinally disposed bowed portion or rib 24 (Figure 5) whereby the comparatively thin strip is reenforced. The ends of this member 23 are shown provided with holes at 25 which enable the member to be secured to the sides or ear portions of the helmet by lacing,

riveting, or any other suitable means for properly securing the guard in place.

The upwardly disposed and rearwardly sloping portion 25 is also made from a sheet metal strip provided with a bowed reenforcing portion or rib disposed along the longitudinal median line and similar to the body portion 23; the lower end of the portion or member 26 being preferably integrally united with the body member 23 by welding. The upper end of portion 26 ,is integrally connected with the laterally disposed arcuate forehead portion 27, which is also formed out of a metal strip similar to the other portions 23 and 26; and the ends of this strip are shown provided with holes 28, 28 whereby the forehead brace portion 2'! may be suitably secured to the helmet.

In Figure 6 the guard is made of round iron rods bentinto proper shape; the main body or face encircling member 29 being given arcuate formation like in the previously described constructions so as to extend to opposite sides of the helmet where it is secured in place, as for example by lacing. The upwardly disposed nose traversing portion 36 consists of two iron rods whose ends are welded or integrally secured at it to the member 23 and this portion of each rod given the same curvature, arranged parallel and welded together up to the forehead bracing portion where each. rod is bent laterally, to opposite sides of the planeof the portion 30, to provide the forehead receiving portions 32, 32 which terminate in the downwardly disposed side portions 33, 33 which, in turn, are welded or otherwise secured to the ends of the body portion 29, thus providing a very rigid structure. The portions 32, 32 are curved to properly receive the forehead portion of the helmet; and this portion of the guard is also preferably secured to the helmet.

The construction shown in Figure '7 has the face encircling member or portion 34 and the upwardly disposed and rearwardly curved nose traversing portion 35 made of metal rods preferably welded together at 36. The ends of the face member 34 are each. somewhat flattened and transversely disposed flat plates 31 welded or otherwise secured thereto; the plates being preferably provided with a plurality of holes 38 to receive lacing or other suitable fastening means whereby these side plates may be securely held against the sides of the head gear or helmet.

The upper end of the nose traversing portion 35 is suitably secured to the transversely disposed curved portion 39 adapted to receive the forehead portion of the helmet; and this portion 39 is shown provided with suitable holes 40 for the reception of suitable means for securing the head piece 39 to the helmet.

The guards shown in Figures 4. 6, and '7, like the one shown in Figure l, are to be covered with rubber or other suitable material as indicated at 22, see Figure 5.

In a guard of the kind in question, it is essential that it be of rigid and indestructible construction, while at the same time not be of undue weight and also in no way interfere with the users vision; with the face encircling member and the nose traversing member made to extend sufficiently forward of the tip of the wearers nose, which may be controlled by the extent to which the free ends of the face encircling member lap the sides of the helmet.

It is apparent that the material or metal from which the guard is made may be of any crosssectional configuration best adapted to provide the requisite strength and at the same time lend itself readily to being easily fastened to the helmet; and then, too, the guard construction may be somewhat varied without, however, departing from the spirit of my invention which has been described in terms employed merely for purposes of description and not as terms of limitation.

The eye and cheek protecting bars disclosed in Figure 3 as applied to the type of guard shown in Figure 1 may also be applied 'to the types of guards shown in Figures 4, 6, and 7 when desired and when the guard is to be worn by a player using correction or eye glasses; the bars I 9 and 23 being readily welded or rigidly secured to the metal bars of these guards before they have been provided with the covering material.

In Figure 8 another form of my invention is disclosed, with the guard consisting of the face encircling lower bar 4| whose ends are preferably provided with the enlargements or plates 42 which in turn are shown provided with openings 43 to receive rivets, lacing, or any other suitable fastening means whereby these enlarged ends or plates may be securely held against the sides of the helmet.

At a point intermediate of the ends of bar 2!, the guard is provided with the upwardly disposed and rearwardly curved bar 44; the lower end of the bar being welded or otherwise immovably secured to the face encircling bar 4!, while the upper, end of the nose bar G4 is provided with the enlargement or plate 45 having a number of openings 46 whereby the upper end may be immovably secured to the forehead covering portion of the helmet.

In order to afford protection for the eyes and cheek-bones, I provide the transversely disposed bar 41. This bar is made arcuate with its ends integrally or immovably united with the lower face encircling bar 4! and preferably adjacent the ends or enlargements of the latter, while the intermediate part of bar 41 is preferably welded or secured to the upper end of the nose bar 44 adjacent to the enlarged or plate portion thereof.

These bars, like in the previously described constructions, are intended to be provided with a suitable covering of rubber or the like.

With this type of guard, the tip of the wearers nose will be protected by the lower bar 4| which is intended to extend transversely of the face and slightly forward of the nose, and the top portion of the nose will be protected by the upwardly extending and curved bar 444 which extends the full length of the nose; while the eyes and cheek bones will be protected against a players elbows by the bar 4? which is curved outwardly so as to be disposed a slight distance forward of the face.

The bar 47 is so arranged that it will not interefere with a proper vision; the type of guard being somewhat lighter in weight than the type illustrated in Figure 3, without, however, sacrificing strength.

-My invention has had expression in various forms which are believed to be the best embodiments of the invention which have been described in terms employed for purposes of description and not as terms of limitation, as structural modifications may be possible without, however, departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a protective device, the combination with a head helmet, of a nose guard comprising, a head helmet, a horizontally disposed arcuately extending lower bar, operatively secured to the helmet, a spaced upper curved guard bar and a plurality of curved guard rib members defining direct integral connection between said spaced horizontally disposed upper and lower guard bars, each having separate connections with the upper and lower bar, said bars and ribs each covered with a permanent coating of soft resilient material to protect players.

2. A guard of the character described, composed of rigid material and comprising an arcuate lower bar, adapted to extend from side to side of a players head and forward of the tip of the nose, the ends of said bar shaped to define means whereby they may be secured to the helmet of a player, an upper bar, horizontally disposed and curved in form, adapted to be secured to the forehead member of a players helmet and a forward central guard bar establishing rigid connection between the central portions of said lower bar and said upper bar, and normally disposed over the players nose, a pair of bars on each side of the forward central guard bar, the bars of each pair being arranged in criss-cross manner relative to each other between the lower bar and the upper bar with one end of one bar of each pair secured to the lower bar and the other end of the same bar secured respectively adjacent the respective ends of the said upper bar, while one end of the second bar of each pair is secured to the forward central guard bar and the other end of said second bar of each pair are respectively secured to the lower bar adjacent the ends thereof to provide enlarged sight openings. 3. A guard of the character described composed of rigid material and comprising a relatively horizontal arcuate lower bar adapted to extend from side to side of a players head and forward of the tip of a players nose, the ends of said bar being shaped to define attaching means therefor whereby the ends are secured to a players helmet, a relatively horizontal upper arcuate bar adapted to normally register forward of a players forehead and a forward central guard bar establishing rigid connection between the central portion of said upper and said lower bars respectively and normally registering over the nose of a player when wearing a helmet to which said guard is secured, a curved forward guard rib disposed in spaced relation, one on each side of said forward central guard bar; said ribs each having their lower ends secured to said lower bar adjacent said forward central bar and having their upper ends respectively secured to said upper bar adjacent the respective ends thereof, and a re-inforcing brace rib upwardly and arcuately extending from one side of said lower bar over to the other side of said lower bar across the intermediate portion of said forward central guard bar and each of said curved guard ribs and making a rigid connection with the guard bar and lower bar and guard ribs in the respective contacts therewith; thus to provide a substantial brace for said protecting members and to provide ample sight openings in said guard.

VERNON R. McMILLAN. 

